Exhausted, dizzy, feeling bad could be lack of salt,potassium, magnesium.

I had always heard of the sugar/candida connection so this doesn't surprise me. You probably answered this somewhere already but could the feeling bad have been because you were not eating enough calories?

@AngInCanada the article below talks about a side of keto I have never heard. One place mentioned a sweet spot of 100-150 carbs. Best of luck getting to the bottom what what is happening in your case.

https://thepowerofozone.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/does-the-ketogenic-diet-get-rid-of-candida-the-ketosis-candida-mercury-link/

I was just reading that there are different forms of candida and I wonder if that's a factor? Maybe albicans likes ketones but whatever was causing the issue was a different type.

AngInCanada wrote: »

canadjineh wrote: »

Are you talking vaginal yeast infection or gut candida overload? You can have a gut overload w/o ever having had a vaginal yeast infection (I'm one of those).

Not gut. Not having fun days here. Have an appointment with my naturopath on Monday. Going to chat with her about my experiences.

When not in ketosis, I have TOM related awful ringworm outbreaks (as in it starts breaking out the whole week before and during. And those things last for weeks and weeks itching me to death), I get yeast infections randomly and frequently, and I am tasty to biting bugs like mosquitoes from spring to October. On keto, I am not. No ringworm, no yeast, no bug bites, EVER.

Now keto has its own problems. Freezing, poor circulation, which is a problem in winter, dry eyes (causing cornea rips sometimes) and sinuses (another winter issue). Chronic fatigue bleedthrough, either during TOM or around 2:30pm. TOM, though regular like clockwork, lasts 10 day! Keto-stink if I mess up and have to readapt...staining the armpits of my white tees. Grrrrrr....

But my skin is better on keto (no pizza face), no grain/sugar gas, no IBS-C, no Mushroom kingdom invasions, bugs leave me alone, cravings are nil, I can exercise forever if I need to, PMDD is just PMS now (in fact sometimes I get ambushed by TOM because I don't have any symptoms until a minute before it hits. And during is tame. I'm no longer a raving psycho!), my mood is fantastic (no more depression), chronic fatigue ISN'T all day long, no brain fog, ADD is vastly improved, and I rarely get sick.

Those are my personal pro/cons. I deem the pros more important than the cons. Which is easy for me since my pro list is so long. Other people find that their cons list is longer, and the pros aren't worth it.

I believe in keto. But it isn't perfection for everyone. Not even me.

So Ang, do what you need to. I completely understand. I really wanted keto to kill my chronic fatigue. I still get waves of "exhausted" that smacks me in the face though. So it's not perfect. And that makes me mad. Because the chronic fatigue is draining, and I find it obnoxious in the extreme, inconvenient, and it drags my mood down. I might feel less tired at under 100g instead and maybe freeze less, and maybe wake up in the night and NOT worry that my eyelid is going to stick to my eyeball and rip my cornea, but the ringworm (itches like HADES and lasts forever) and the yeast infections, and the skin problems and the crankies and cravings I experience are all annoying enough to me to not bother to stick on it to find out if that makes the chronic fatigue (and the other little annoying keto-probs) leave forever. And there is the water weight I gain right on my belly, that really bugs me, too. Those might be temporary until my hormones find their happy place, but it's not fun, and I'm not that patient a person.

I hope you find your "sweet spot," where your pros outweigh the cons, and you are able to chug along without much issue. Nothing is perfect, but there certainly is a good-enough, and I hope you can discover it soon. Life is too short to spend miserable. I hope your appt goes well and maybe the naturopath can help you figure something out.

When we cut the fuel level to any heating source it gets cooler. We are the same way and being cold should reverse itself to some degree when we get back to eating at maintenance.

The longer I'm on this site the more I learn/forget/sort of remember and re-read. Some of you have listed feeling/being cold....alot. Somewhere out there is a Dr Atkins interview with Larry King and they take callers for Q&A. One of the callers asked about being cold and Dr Atkins recommended checking their thyroid function simply by checking their body temperature everyday for 10 days prior to rising in the morning. A consistent number below 98 indicates a less then well functioning thyroid. Seems pretty straight forward. A simple test. Improving thyroid function and learning what works for each individual may vary but diagnosis seems easy. A link below says the same thing

http://www.wellnessresources.com/weight_tips/articles/body_temperature_and_thyroid_problems/

For one or two of you this may be too easy to believe. For some it may be a re-run and some will dismiss it. Considering the source listed was what some would say was unique in diet approach when he first started out it may be worth a listen and more importantly try. Best of luck.

I know when I eat a lot of sugar I would get yeast infections. So sounds plausible. And I didn't know about the dry eye problem. I have been having that issue. My mother in law told me to take a spoonful of flax seed oil a day. I still have yet to check into that.

AngInCanada wrote: »

Small update. Saw the naturopath and she wants me to do a total elimination diet after Christmas. She's sure my issues (AND the horrible fatigue on keto) are caused by a food sensitivity/allergy.

If you need a guide, you might want to check out the Whole 30 program. It eliminates most of the common ones, and you can adapt it for additional ones your naturopath mentions (nightshades and eggs are other common culprits).

@baconslave and @Sunny_Bunny_ in addition to what @_Terrapin_ suggested, you guys might also want to try getting more red meat from ungulates (beef, bison, venison, etc) into your diet and see if that helps. It sounds strange, but one thing I noticed this past summer, when I was on my best carnivorous plan (which was a very high percentage of bison) was that my body temperature went up and I was never cold. My body temperature has run 97.5 for about as long as I can remember, and even in the summer, I'd often have ice cold hands and feet. However, while eating the way I was over the late spring and early summer, my body temperature actually went up to 98.5 and my hands and feet were never cold.

One thing I noticed from a quick check of both your diaries was that you both seem to favor fish and chicken over any red meat (at least from what I was seeing). It might be worth making beef your primary or only source of meat for a couple of weeks and see if that makes a difference.

AngInCanada wrote: »

Small update. Saw the naturopath and she wants me to do a total elimination diet after Christmas. She's sure my issues (AND the horrible fatigue on keto) are caused by a food sensitivity/allergy.

I sure hope you find out something definitive soon. And that you are doing better a little at least.